Texas Pastor Andrew Farley Lists ’45 Lies Christians Have Been Told’ in New Book “Twisted Scripture”

May 15, 2019

You are saved by Jesus’ death on the cross. You must die to self on a daily basis. A real Christian does not commit sins anymore. It is healthy to be afraid of God. You must donate 10 percent of your income to the Church. According to one author and evangelical pastor, these are all lies.

In the book, Farley seeks to critique common misconceptions about Christian teaching and practice that are believed by Christians themselves.

Topics include views on salvation, charitable giving, divine judgment, forgiveness, how the Old Testament relates to Christianity, and other issues.

For each lie, Farley offers up arguments and biblical references that seek to undermine the claim. Following each rebuttal, the book includes reflection questions and a short prayer.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Farley explained that he compiled the list of 45 lies based off of what he had seen and heard over the years.

“Over the last 20 years I have seen grave misunderstandings among evangelical Christians about the love of God, the grace of God, God’s forgiveness, our identity in Christ. Just seen so many misunderstandings where Scriptures have been taken out of context,” explained Farley.

“So, it just ended up being 45, but because of the reality of what I grew up believing and so many other people believe and so the book is designed to kind of untwist or unclutter and get back to the core message of the Gospel.”

The Christian Post interviewed Farley on Friday regarding his book and topics related to it, including his views on the “prosperity gospel” and the opinion of some that Christians should “unhitch” themselves from the Old Testament. Below are excerpts from the interview.

CP: You mentioned being raised with some of the lies critiqued in the book. What were some of the lies you included in the book that you once believed?

Farley: I was raised to believe, for example, that you have to ask God for forgiveness every time you sinned so that would relate to Part G in the book, “God forgives you little by little each time you sin.” So I was petrified that if I forgot to confess one, if I left a sin out, if I didn’t realize that I committed a sin that hadn’t been confessed that I would, you know, one day meet the final judgment, meet God there and then have to pay for that sin somehow because I had not confessed it or asked for forgiveness. So that would be a good example and then really just the general idea that at the final judgment I would have to answer for my sins. I think many Christians think they have to answer for their sins at the final judgment, when the whole point of the cross is that Jesus Christ took away our sins and He remembers them no more.

I kind of engaged in a double talk. I would say “my sins are forgiven” and then five minutes later I would say that I had to answer for my sins or would be judged for my sins.